India’s up-and-coming batting prodigy, Shubman Gill, took the No. 1 spot from Pakistan’s Babar Azam in a massive shakeup in the ICC ODI rankings. With 796 rating points, Gill now occupies the top position in the latest ICC ODI batting rankings, while Babar fell to the second position with 773 points.
Before this latest update, Shubman Gill was just five points short of Babar Azam. His consistent performances in the ongoing ODI series against England played a crucial role in securing the top rank. His continuous half-centuries in the series helped him cross the legendary figure of Babar, who had remained number one for a long time.
Gill was at his best in the recently concluded three-match ODI series against England. He scored 87 runs off 96 in the first match held on February 6 at Nagpur’s VCA Stadium and had an equally great second ODI at Cuttack’s Barabati Stadium, making 60 off 52 balls. The final match, which took place at Ahmedabad’s Narendra Modi Stadium on February 19, once again saw Gill shine, opening the innings to proudly score 112 runs.
This is the second time Gill has occupied the No. 1 position in the ODI format. In the meantime, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli also continued to be a part of the top ten, with Rohit at No. 3 and Kohli at No. 6.
Apart from Gill, Shreyas Iyer was fortunate to make it to the ICC ODI rankings. Because of his performance-59, 44, and 78 runs in the three matches against England, Iyer has now advanced one spot to the ninth position, making him the No. 9 ranked ODI batter with 679 rating points.
